SolarEdge tumbles on weak first-quarter guidance

SolarEdge‘s stock tumbled Tuesday after the company gave weak guidance for the first quarter, as the residential solar market continues to face headwinds from high interest rates and depressed demand.

SolarEdge expects revenues of $175 million to $215 million for the first three months of 2024, well below Wall Street’s expectations of $406 million. The company shares fell as much as 23% in extended trading.

Here’s what SolarEdge reported for the fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

• Loss per share: 92 cents adjusted, vs. $1.17 expected.
• Revenues: $316 million, vs. $354 million expected.

On a generally accepted accounting principles basis, SolarEdge reported a net loss of $162.4 million for the fourth quarter, or $2.85 per share, compared to a net profit of $20.8 million in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, the company reported a loss of 92 cents per share for the final three months of 2023, beating the $1.17 loss per share expected by Wall Street.

SolarEdge’s posted revenues of $316 million for the quarter, down 65% from the $890.7 million in sales the company reported in same period in 2022.

SolarEdge CEO Zvi Lando said the company struggled with a weaker market in the second half of 2023 due to high interest rates and lower prices, which saddled the company with inventory. The company primarily manufacturers inverters that convert solar power into useable electricity.

“We continue to face challenges from general market dynamics as well as the inventory levels of our products in the channels due to the abrupt slowdown of demand in the second half of 2023,” Lando told analysts during the company’s earnings call.

The struggling European residential solar market should bottom in first quarter and improve afterward, Lando said. In the U.S., the residential market is not expected to improve until interest rates come down, according to the CEO.

The inventory backlog SolarEdge faces is not expected to clear until the end of 2024, according to the CEO. The company is slashing 16% of its workforce, closing some manufacturing sites, and exiting certain businesses to reduce costs in the face of weakening revenue, Lando said on the earnings call.